Trump downplaying tariff concerns could be a gift to Democrats: ANALYSIS
In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Donald Trump downplayed the growing economic concerns around his newly announced tariffs.
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” Trump said. He later added, “There'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much.”
That was his only reference to unease that tariffs could send already-rising prices soaring.
The worries aren’t just conjecture, with leaders of retail giants like Target warning that American consumers will pay the (higher) price. Even allies of Trump, like Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., admitted in an interview with ABC News Live on Tuesday “there's going to be a little bit of pain” in the fallout from the Trump policy.
When voters cast their election ballots this past November, the economy and inflation were top issues. Then-candidate Trump promised relief from high prices, pledging to usher in a “golden age of America” on Day 1. It was a message that helped garner Trump more than 77 million votes.
Yet more than 40 days after the start of his term, Americans find themselves shelling out more cash for grocery staples and other necessities. Trump blamed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
“We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans,” Trump said.
The refusal to acknowledge the potential impact of his actions is politically risky. The cost of living won’t become less important to the American people. The constant reminder of increasing prices at the grocery store checkout or the gas pump won’t be easily forgotten. Price hikes may be more than a “little disturbance” for those trying to make ends meet.
It could play into the hands of Democrats, who have little recourse in a Republican-led Washington.
“Americans who voted for the president didn't sign up for this. They wanted lower costs,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., hours before Trump’s address. “’What is the state of the union,’ we ask? Chaos is up, corruption is up, and costs are up for regular people.
It was an argument reiterated by freshman Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., in the Democratic rebuttal.
“Grocery and home prices are going to up not down. He hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those,” said Slotkin. “His tariffs on allies like Canada will raise prices on energy, lumber and cars to start a trade war that will hurt manufacturing and farmers.”
Tariff fallout could become a rallying cry for Democrats as they build a case against Trump ahead of midterm elections in hopes of reclaiming some power.
